Many different computer systems having many different proprietary platforms exist. For instance, handheld computer systems, such as telephones and/or personal digital assistants (PDAs), have been developed with their own specific operating systems, features and capabilities that are different from other systems such as more traditional desktop and laptop computer systems. Moreover, larger systems, such as servers, typically have their own operating system platforms that are also different than the desktops, laptops, telephones and PDAs. Often however, these different systems need to communicate with one another.
In order to provide such communication, computer programs or applications have been written to allow synchronization of information from one system to another. For instance, handheld computer systems provide methods of synchronizing information that has changed or been added on a desktop computer system. E.g., address book and calendar applications have been created that provide communication between a desktop computer system and handheld computer systems wherein changes to an address book entry, such as a contact, or a calendar entry on the desktop system will be propagated to the handheld machine during a synchronization operation or process.
Unfortunately however, in order to provide such synchronization, a version of the application, e.g., the specific address book or calendar application must be present on both computer systems. Otherwise, the formatting of the information is unrecognizable and cannot be synchronized. Consequently, the different proprietary systems must create specific applications for the sole purpose of synchronizing information, if such synchronization is desired. Such a result is unsatisfactory as many different systems have their own, preferred format for information. As an example, a telephone computer system may only need a name and a telephone number for a particular contact. Such a system would be overwhelmed with creating, storing and executing a new application to communicate with a desktop system and then receiving, parsing and storing the extraneous information, such address and email information for the contact it receives from the desktop computer system upon synchronization. This problem is compounded when a particular user may, in fact, use three or more different systems, e.g., a desktop computer system, a telephone and a PDA, which may all have their own representation of a particular contact.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present invention has been made.